The hot social issue around here has been the efforts to get a Gay Straight Alliance club established at Morris Area High School — it has been approved by the school board, but they immediately slapped up new rules to restrict the ability of that club to advertise its existence. The usual small town reaction has occurred: letters to the editor of the local paper! I’ve actually been rather happy with the response — most of the letters have a decidedly liberal bent.

Here’s one from Nancy Carpenter, of the chemistry discipline (a lot of the liberal glow, or should I say taint, is coming from the university community) which I rather liked.

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Seriously, I don’t need a first century mystic to explain the complexities of the biology of sex to me, but if it makes some heads explode, I’m all for it.

They have one! Her name is Gina Loudon, and her qualifications are…

Loudon, a tea party activist who became a reality star after she and her husband joined ABC’s Wife Swap

She also has a Ph.D. in a “psychology related field” from an online university, and has published in such distinguished journals as Breitbart, WND, and Townhall. I wonder if the APA would agree with her title.

She’s also using her lofty position as the Fox News Psychology Expert to dispense dangerous stupidity. She’s against transgender surgery because — I love this, coming from a Tea Party Reality TV star — it’s anti-science.

And the science is on my side of this, she remarked. I’m not sure why the other side is deciding to be science deniers now. Johns Hopkins University ended their program because they realized that people who go through with the sex change surgery have a 20 fold increase in suicide rates as opposed to those who don’t.

As is pointed out at the link, she’s referring to a debunked study to make that claim. She seems to buy into the idea that transgender men and women are just mentally disordered, who need more therapy to get over it.

There’s a video of Loudon. I haven’t watched it. I have a personal rule against watching videos of anyone chatting with Steve Doocy — I only have so many brain cells to spare.

I think we all know that already, but his latest interview clinches it. He wants Roe v. Wade overturned, and he compares abortion to slavery.

Think about this. During slavery — and I know that one of those words you’re not supposed to say — but I’m saying it. During slavery, a lot of the slave owners thought they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave, anything that they chose to do. And what if the abolitionists had said, ‘You know, I don’t believe in slavery, I think it’s wrong. But you guys do whatever you want to do.’ Where would we be?

You know, you could talk to the slaves, they could express themselves, they could speak about their anger and pain. A blastula or a fetus are not comparable to Frederick Douglass. And more, slaves were forced against their will to live in shackles — if you’re going to compare slavery to anything, it ought to be the women who are compelled to bear children against their will.

Rape or incest, I would not be for killing a baby because the baby came about in that way. And all you have to do is go and look up the many stories of people who have led very useful lives who are the result of rape or incest.

Shouldn’t the women have a voice here? All you have to do is go and look up the many stories of women who had abortions and lived useful, happy, productive lives afterwards, in careers that would have been cut short if they’d been forced into motherhood.

But oh, right, the women don’t matter in Ben Carson’s head.

He’s such a horrible person, without a thought in his head.

Well, gosh. We thought the local Gay-Straight Alliance had won a victory, and they did…but of course the conservative status quo had to strike back. New rules have been posted in the school.

Notices of non-curricular student club meetings may be posted only on a bulletin board designated for non-curricular clubs. Such notices may include the name of the club; a brief description of the club; the dates, times and locations of meetings; and a statement indicating that students are invited to attend the meetings. Also, all notices posted by non-curricular clubs must include a disclaimer that states: “This is a non-curricular student club. The School District does not endorse or sponsor the goals, objectives, activities, or opinions of the club.” Any distribution or display of other information/materials relating to non-curricular student clubs, other than the bulletin board posting, may only be provided to students who choose to attend club meetings.

Materials related to non-curricular clubs may not be distributed or displayed in school hallways, classrooms or common areas, nor may announcements be made over the School District’s public address system or in school-sponsored publications.

The first rule of gay-straight alliance club is no one talks about gay-straight alliance club.

That’s a bit draconian. So to forestall the possibility that there might be gay signs or gay announcements over the PA, they’ve declared that no “non-curricular” club can make any announcements at all.

As a local parent points out, homecoming is a non-curricular activity. So are senior prom, pep rallies, and athletic events. I’m sure the students will enjoy the newly drab, somber, staid hallways of their institution.

That notice really ought to be signed by the proud author, so we could all know who the puritans are.

I mentioned before that there was a rally yesterday for the Morris Area High School Gay Straight Alliance. This organization has been in limbo for about 3 years as school officials resisted acknowledging the existence of gay students…and also ignored the bullying that goes on.

As is common in small towns, this has been a hot topic in letters to the editor in our local paper. There have been strong letters in favor, and weasely legalistic letters urging caution. I haven’t seen any anti-gay letters, which is a real sign of progress, but just whining stuff as opponents try to find a way to avoid approval, despite the fact that it is required that they allow it.

So they rallied last night, the school board met, and the school board voted to approve the Morris Area High School Gay Straight Alliance at last. There were only two votes against, although the school board chair did try to sour the whole thing by reading out a statement that they’re only approving it because federal law requires them to do so — a kind of graceless confession that they’ve been in the wrong, and that they’re not happy about having to do what is right.

But still…it’s a victory for goodness and justice and equality. I’ll have to check out the Morris paper this weekend to learn how other members of the community react.

I must have a case of terminal cynicism, because I read this article with the thesis that there are signs of hope in the fight against academic sexism, and my heart just opened one eye and sighed flatulently.

Maybe you’ll be more receptive.

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More of ancient philosophy dudebro Colin McGinn’s emails have emerged as his harassment victim brings suit against him. The former student’s responses are consistent: he makes advances, she says no.

On May 18, he texted I feel like kissing you. She responded, “You can’t do that.”

But at the same time, you can tell she’s conflicted: this guy is part of her pathway to a career in philosophy, and she can’t afford to just tell him to fuck off. So she gets more and more email like this one:

Need to avoid the scenario I sketched: you meet someone else, I broken hearted, our relationship over (except formally). This follows pretty obviously from current policy. To avoid my heart break I need to prepare myself mentally, which means withdrawing from you emotionally–not good for either of us. Also no good to just have full-blown relationship–too risky and difficult in the circumstances. So need compromise. Many are possible. Here’s one (I’m not necessarily advocating it): we have sex 3 times over the summer when no one is around, but stop before next semester begins. This has many advantages, which I won’t spell out, but also disadvantages, ditto. I am NOT asking you to do this–it is merely one possible compromise solution to a difficult problem, which might suggest others. It has the FORM of a possible solution. Try to take this in the spirit in which it is intended. yours, Colin

Jebus. She finally had enough, and resigned. And then, finally, the university administration leapt into action…and did their very best to keep everything on the down low. Of course.

She resigned her position as his research assistant on Sept. 11, 2012. Two days later, McGinn emailed her, stating “you are much better off with my support than without it. So please think carefully about your actions.” On Sept. 14, Morrison made what she believed to be a formal sexual harassment complaint and provided some of McGinn’s messages to university administrators, hoping to be protected from retaliation. However, UM routed her complaint through an “informal process” pressing the professor to resign, according to reports, because it was quicker. (McGinn denies on his blog that he was forced out.)

UM lawyers have said they chose to pursue this informal route to achieve an immediate resolution. Isicoff echoed the comments in conversations with HuffPost. Morrison said she had a right to choose between a formal or informal complaint process.

Keeping it informal, quiet, and private allows the university to hush up the misbehavior, but notice — it does not provide the victim the support and protection she needed and wanted.

Just once in my lifetime I’d like to see university bureaucrats come down on harassers like a swarm of vengeful angels in nice conservative suits and dresses. I know, it’s strange to see a call for more wrath on university professors from a university professor, but these people are not my kind. They are exploiters who damage the reputation of my profession, and if only these administrators would see it, the reputation of the universities they nest in.

I’m feeling left out. I’m not even placeable on this diagram.

Oh, wait. I think I’m the plain empty unlabeled background. Yay!

The Marcy situation has repercussions all across the university, and at universities all across the country. Here’s Ellen Simms take.

The greatest fury regarding the Geoff Marcy case has been directed against the university for protecting the predator at the expense of student safety and well-being. Despite a finding of sexual harassment, the university completely suppressed the outcome of the investigation. No effort was made to warn the students and postdocs in the astronomy department. They were left to be the canaries in the coal mine. Only if one of them complained would Marcy have experienced any repercussions for his decade or more of abuse. And, why would those women complain? Some had already complained and, seemingly, nothing had come of it. The only reason that this path was not followed is that someone leaked the report to BuzzFeed. It was from there that I, other Berkeley faculty and even the students involved in the investigation, learned of its outcome.

On Monday evening, most graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty members of UC Berkeley’s astronomy department publicly condemned Marcy’s behavior and the administration’s handling of the case. Yet it seems clear that some faculty members had knowingly tolerated Marcy’s behavior for years. This episode clarifies that such cases cannot be investigated internally. The conflicts of interest are too great.

That’s a major problem: the institution wants problems like Marcy’s harassment of women kept silent, because they have an interest in preventing the stories from affecting their reputation and revenue stream. So potential victims are kept unaware, and all of the burden of reporting and standing up to the barrage of negativity that follows falls entirely on the shoulders of whistleblowers…who are often also victims of the predator.